2002 Hamilton Christmas Bird Count Highlights Count Date: Dec. 26, 2002
Weather: Cloudy except for a few brief clear patches between 4-6AM; Low Temperature -4C, High +2C; Winds west then north 15-20km, gusting occasionally to 30-35 km/h. A 15-20cm snowfall Christmas Eve into Christmas Day seemed to push most land species into concentrated pockets on count day. Hamilton Harbour and Burlington Bay were mainly ice free. Creeks were flowing freely but Cootes Paradise was almost completely iced over. - 80 participants covered 39 areas and 7 feeders; 160 party hours walking, 82 party hours driving, 214 km walking, 1305 km driving, 18 hours feederwatching - 99111 birds of 96 species and 2 hybrid ducks seen on Count Day, Dec. 26 - 6 Count Week (CW) species, i.e. seen Dec. 23-25 or 27-29, but not on Dec. 26 - Second highest total count ever for Hamilton; tied for third highest number of Identified Species seen on count day (highest was 100 in 1997); second highest number of Identified Species plus Count Week (highest was 103, also in 1997) - 21 species reached new highs for the count: totals for Trumpeter Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard and Cooper's Hawk increased by almost 100% over the previous high; totals for Long-tailed Duck, Carolina Wren and Hermit Thrush increased by almost 50% over the previous high. - 32 species have been seen on all 49 Hamilton CBCs for which data is currently available (1954-2002); one species has been seen on 48 of those counts. - Species totals significantly higher (double or more) in 2002 than the average for the previous 10 years (1992-2001): Mourning Dove, Eastern Screech Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing - Species totals significantly lower (half or less) in 2002 than the average for the previous 10 years (1992-2001): Northern Harrier, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-crowned Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Snow Bunting - Other highlights: Adult Red-shouldered Hawk seen migrating at 10:40 over Hendrie Valley spotted again at 11:00 over Dundas Marsh; 5200 American Crows counted during dusk fly-in to 3 lower city roosts; Barrow's Goldeneye (seen on only 3 previous counts), Harlequin Duck (5 prev.), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Fox Sparrow (9 prev.), Black-crowned Night-Heron and Black Scoter (10 prev.) Mike Street, Compiler Ancaster, Ontario, Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mike Street <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
